Senior Production Manager

Senior Production Manager | Milton Keynes | £69,566 | PermanentThe Opportunity

If you''re looking for a senior leadership role where you can influence operational performance, lead large-scale production teams and make a visible impact within a fast-paced engineering environment, this is an opportunity to put yourself at the centre of a critical manufacturing operation.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Production Manager to lead Production Support Services across a busy engineering facility, encompassing Weld Repair, Paint, Corrosion, Testing and Operational activities. With responsibility for approximately 140–160 employees across multiple layers of management, this is a high-profile role reporting directly to the Head of Operations.

You''ll be responsible for ensuring production plans stay on track, operational performance is maintained, and customer commitments are delivered safely, efficiently and to the highest quality standards. Operating within a complex engineering environment, you''ll balance strategic oversight with hands-on leadership, spending as much time engaging with teams on the shop floor as you do analysing performance data and driving business improvements.

This role offers significant visibility across the organisation and will suit an established production leader who thrives in demanding industrial environments. Working closely with senior stakeholders across Operations, Engineering, Projects, Planning and Support Functions, you''ll play a key role in driving accountability, improving performance and shaping the future success of the operation.

Senior Production Manager Responsibilities

Production Leadership: Lead multiple production support functions, ensuring targets are achieved across safety, quality, delivery and cost whilst maintaining operational efficiency.

People Management: Provide leadership to approximately 140–160 employees, including production managers, team leaders, engineers, supervisors and operational personnel, while building a culture of accountability and performance.

Operational Planning & Delivery: Own short and medium-term production planning, ensuring resources, manpower and operational priorities remain aligned to business and customer requirements.

Performance Management: Monitor KPIs, review operational performance, identify risks to delivery and ensure appropriate escalation and corrective action plans are implemented.

Continuous Improvement: Drive structured problem solving through root-cause analysis, identifying performance gaps and implementing sustainable improvements across production activities.

Safety, Compliance & Housekeeping: Maintain high standards of safety, housekeeping and operational compliance while leading responses to incidents, risks and performance concerns.

Stakeholder Engagement: Work collaboratively with Operations, Engineering, Projects, Planning, Quality, Commercial, Finance and HR teams to ensure the successful delivery of business objectives.

Ideal Senior Production Manager

Heavy Industry Experience: Proven Senior Production Management experience within heavy engineering, rail, manufacturing, fabrication, welding, paint or similar industrial environments.

Large-Scale Leadership: Experience leading substantial operational teams, including responsibility for managers and multi-layer leadership structures.

Technical Credibility: Strong engineering or technical background with the ability to challenge, support and influence operational teams effectively.

Operational Excellence: Demonstrable experience managing production performance, operational planning and delivery within a fast-paced environment.

Analytical Mindset: Comfortable using data to identify issues, understand root causes and implement long-term solutions.

Leadership & Accountability: A visible, hands-on leader who naturally commands respect, drives performance and holds teams accountable for results.

Decision Making: Able to make informed decisions quickly within environments where safety, quality, delivery and cost pressures are constantly evolving.

Location & Working Arrangements

Location: Milton Keynes

Working Pattern: Full-time, site-based leadership role with a strong shop-floor presence required.

Reporting To: Head of Operations

Senior Production Manager Salary & Benefits

Salary: £69,566 (5% increase following completion of probation)

Benefits

• 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Salary review after probation and annually thereafter
• Life Assurance (4x basic salary)
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Buy & Sell Holiday Scheme (up to 5 days)
• Company Christmas Shutdown
• Pension Scheme (4.4% Employee / 6% Employer)

About Ford & Stanley Group

Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas – recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.

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Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy.

Ref: Senior Production Manager

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